Amnesty International notes and strongly condemns the abduction of Delan Cole, a Zimbabwe National Students Union student leader at Chinhoyi University, yesterday. He was reportedly taken from a lecture theatre while attending a meeting on Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3, where he was speaking against the Bill on 21 March 2025.
This latest abduction threatens not just freedoms of assembly, expression, and association, but also the rights to education, non-discrimination, academic freedom, and participation in university public life. On 10 November 2025, two other students from the same institution, 23-year-old Marlvin Madanda and 21-year-old Lindon Zanga, were allegedly abducted and were found the next day, reportedly dumped, beaten, and injured.
We urge the authorities to thoroughly investigate this latest abduction and ensure that students can exercise their freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and organize without fear of reprisals, intimidation, or torture.